A driver uses their cell phone while behind the wheel.

Jacy Good learned while hospitalized on her 22nd birthday in 2008 that the Pennsylvania crash that nearly killed her claimed her parents’ lives—thanks to a teenage driver talking on his cell phone.

The White Plains resident who later dedicated her life to advocating against distracted driving shared those and other painful details during a panel discussion Wednesday at Lindenhurst High School.

“We need to change the way we think about this,” Good told students assembled at the school library. “When you are driving, do what it takes to not pick up your phone.”

Leading the discussion was New York State Sen. Charles Fuschillo (R-Merrick), who pointed to studies that found drivers distracted by their cell phones are 23 times more likely to be involved in a collision.

“Distracted drivers put everyone’s safety at risk,” said Fuschillo, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. “Technology enables us to communicate with one another almost whenever and wherever we want, but it endangers lives when drivers pay more attention to a text or email than to the road ahead.”

Trooper Frank Bandiero, who was also on the panel, said that distracted drivers—20,000 of whom were ticketed by state police between July 2011 and July 2012, including 1,400 on LI—are easy to spot since they drive erratically. He said that parents need to set an example for their kids by not using their phones while driving.

A recent survey found that 58 percent of high school seniors and 43 percent of high school juniors said they had texted or emailed while driving during the previous month, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

“Young people, we think we’re invincible,” said Kristen Curran, a senior at Lindenhurst High School who recently obtained her driver’s license and joined the panel. “We think we have so many more years to come, but that’s not the truth.”

Local politicians and school officials cut the ribbon during the grand opening of Farmingdale State College’s new Campus Center.

Ram-Bo, the spirited mascot of Farmingdale State College, stood at a podium Friday inside its new campus center and victoriously raised his arms in the air welcoming spectators into his new home.

Local officials, students, professors and members of the community responded by lifting their cell phones and snapping photos. Others offered friendly waves and smiles.

Then it was onto the main event—the official grand opening of  its new, modern, 50,000-square foot academic building, which boasts state-of-the-art dining facilities, a bookstore and lectures ballroom, all in one centralized location.

“It’s a historic event in a number of different ways,” said Farmingdale State College President Hubert Keen, standing underneath an oculus that bathed visitors in sunlight.

“Buildings don’t come alive until people come in and then work in them,” he added.

Students wasted little time breaking in the new academic digs—the first one of its kind since 1983—touring the facilities, planting laptops atop tables and of course, caffeinating themselves.

Farmingdale State College’s new Campus Center

Keen was joined by State Sen. Charles Fuschillo (R-Merrick), Assemblyman Robert Sweeney (D-Lindenhurst) and Assemblyman Chad Lupinacci (R-Huntington Station), a former adjunct professor at Farmingdale.

“You are forcing me to spend more time here with a campus center like this,” Fuschillo told the crowd, noting that he has a satellite office on campus.

“This is the identity that Farmingdale State College should have,” he added.

School officials hope students will embrace the campus center as a one-stop hub for their daily activities. The $25 million complex is part of the college’s $185 million renovation and construction plan, which includes a School of Business Building, a Children’s Center for students and faculty, and renovations to help better accommodate its growing student population, officials said.

“Farmingdale State College could not have asked for a better addition to campus life,” said Student Government Association President Amanda Lundberg.

The building “befits a thriving, growing college campus,” added Sweeney.

The new facility’s ballroom will have a capacity of 400 to host a variety of lectures and events, the college said, and accommodates 220 for dining-style seating.